December 2023 Week 1
Devin Haney vs. Regis Prograis
WBC Super Lightweight Title
DAZN - San Francisco- Start Time: 7pm; Main Event: 10:30pm
Devin Haney (30-0-0) 25 from San Francisco Unranked at Super Lightweight
Devin Haney is near the top of the list when it comes to ascending boxing stars. He became the WBC Lightweight champ at only 20 years. He became the youngest undisputed champ in the 4 belt era when he went to Australia to defeat George Kambosos Jr in his backyard. Some may say he had an exceptionally easy path as Kambosos had 3 of the belts and won them by beating a very handicapped Teofimo Lopez. Since uniting the belts, Haney has decided to move up to Super Lightweight and invoke his right as WBC titleholder to challenge Prograis for his belt.
As far as this fight goes, Haney’s gameplan is going to be to outpoint Prograis using a combo of his speed, jab and clinching…so much clinching. I will be the first to say that Haney does not have a very attractive boxing style. His fights are generally hard to watch, but extremely effective as far as winning the fight. He uses his jab to score points, while moving around the ring away from danger. At the first sign of pressure, Haney will hug his opponent to stop their momentum and neutralize their attack. This explains why he hasn’t gotten a KO in 8 fights. Now that he’s moving up a weight class, I don’t expect that to change now.
Regis Prograis (29-1-0) from New Orleans. WBC Super Lightweight Champion.
Regis Prograis has had an interesting career. Often called the boogeyman of the division because no one wants to fight him. Prograis presents a bad risk/reward ratio to potential opponents. He’s dangerous because he has a ton of KO power and is aggressive in the ring, but he’s unknown by anyone outside hardcore boxing fans so the fight wouldn’t bring in a ton of money. He has a very entertaining style, but he’s been almost criminally under promoted over the years. I believe he even went without a promoter for a while and that’s almost a death sentence for getting big fights.
Prograis began his first championship reign back in 2018, defending against a few unknowns until losing a very close decision to eventual undisputed super lightweight champ Josh Taylor in 2019. It took him 3 years to get his next shot at the title and won his current belt in 2022. This will be his second defense.
In the ring, Prograis is a pressure fighter. He pushes the action and forces his opponents to either fight back or crumble. Taking away the loss to Taylor, Prograis has gotten a KO in 5 of his last 6 wins.
Prediction
Haney has been able to jab and clinch his way to victory for a while now. I don’t really expect that to change here. This is a high stakes fight and winning the belt will put him into position to challenge for a Welterweight belt as they are expected to be vacated soon. We’re going to see Haney clinch at every opportunity and it will be up to Prograis to make the fight interesting. Can Prograis do enough damage to Haney and work inside when the fight gets close? I think he can, but chances are he won’t. This fight will go one of two ways. A Haney decision is most likely or a Prograis KO.
What I think will happen - Unanimous Decision - Devin Haney.
If I were to Bet - Regis Prograis to win +300, or by KO for +650
Other Fights on this Card to Watch
Liam Paro vs. Montana Love - Super Lightweight
Montana Love was supposed to be one of the next contenders in the Super Lightweight division. He strung together a few good wins against Valenzuela, Carlos Diaz and Baranchyk. But that came to a crashing halt when he was disqualified for literally throwing Steve Spark out of the ring while headlining in his hometown of Cleveland. A year later and he’s fighting another Australian, unbeaten Liam Paro. Paro might be an even tougher test as he was set to fight Regis Prograis for the WBC belt until an injury. I’d bet on Liam Paro here. I need to see Montana Love prove he’s a legit contender before trusting him to win big fights.
Andy Cruz vs. Jovanni Straffon - Lightweight
Cuban Andy Cruz just turned pro this year, but is one of the biggest prospects in the game. He’s an Olympic gold medalist, winner of multiple golds in other amateur championships and is on a rocket ship to a shot at a title. He displayed elite defense and technical boxing abilities as an amateur, the question is whether he can transition that Cuban boxing style to the pros where you need more aggression to close out fights. Straffon is a fill in for an injured Hector Tanajara, so I’m hoping to see Cruz absolutely dominate this fight.
Robeisy Ramirez vs. Rafael Espinoza
WBO Featherweight Title
ESPN - Florida - Start Time: 7pm; Main Event: 10pm
Robeisy Ramirez (13-1-0) 29 from Cuba . WBO Featherweight Champion
Ramirez came to the pro boxing game with an insane amateur pedigree. He’s won 2 Olympic golds, and 4 other golds in various international competitions. Unfortunately he got his pro career started off on the wrong foot in 2019, losing his first fight in a 4 round split decision. Since then, he’s gone 13-0 winning his current WBO belt against Issac Dogboe in April. This is already his second defense this year, pretty much unheard of in today’s boxing landscape. Ramirez like Andy Cruz comes from the Cuban school of boxing. Highly technical with sound footwork and responsible defense. The one thing I’m looking for is more killer instinct from Ramirez. He’s always better than his opponent, but only has a 62% KO rate. I expect this to be an easy victory.
Rafael Espinoza (21-0-0) 29 from Mexico #47 ranked Featherweight
Espinoza is getting a title shot here, but I’m not sure what in his resume suggests he deserves it. His last 4-5 fights have all been against guys ranked 300-500 in the featherweight division. To be fair, he’s knocked them out, but Robeisy Ramirez is multiple levels above anyone he’s ever faced. It would be a minor miracle if Espinoza is able to pull off a victory here. Maybe Ramirez is looking ahead to title unification fights in 2024 and he lets his guard down, but I think Espinoza is just outmatched and the ref will call a stop to this one early.
Prediction
This is more or less a stay busy fight for Robeisy Ramirez. He should be able to win this by KO in 6.
Other Fights on this Card to Watch
Xander Zayas vs. Jorge Fortea - Super Welter
Xander Zayas is being hyped as the next great Puerto Rican boxer. He’s just 21 and has spent the majority of his early career knocking guys out. I feel like he’s hit some challenges recently
Bruce Carrington vs. Jason Sanchez - Featherweight
Carrington is a guy that is currently being pushed by Top Rank as a Featherweight contender. So far, he’s already 26 though and is still in the early stages of his pro career fighting very low level guys. Jason Sanchez is a bit of a step up. He was 14-0 when he challenged Oscar Valdez for a belt in 2019, but he lost and he took a bit of a nosedive going 2-3 since. It’s a decent challenge for Carrington, but one I would hope he wins if he expects to be a contender.
Richard Torrez Jr. vs. Curtis Harper - Heavyweight
Richard Torrez Jr., a 2020 Olympic Silver Medalist is one of the more exciting guys coming up in the heavyweight division. 7-0, 7 KOs and all within 3 rounds. He’s like a bull in a china shop or a Starcraft Zerg Rush putting pressure on until his opponent breaks. This works against the low level guys he’s been matched with because they don’t really have the skills to neutralize the aggression. Curtis Harper on the other hand, has become the journeyman fed to Top Rank prospects like Guido Vianello, Damian Knyba and 2020 Olympic rival Bakhodir Jalolov. This is a step up for Torrez, but he should still win easily. I trust he’ll make it an exciting fight.
Damian Knyba vs. Michael Polite Coffie - Heavyweight
When it comes to heavyweight prospects, Knyba is completely opposite of Torrez Jr. He seems tentative in the ring and has almost no killer instinct when his opponent is in a bad position. This is a shame because he is a giant at 6’7 and has the reach advantage over anyone he fights. He seemingly has no idea how to utilize it though. While he is 12-0, his fights are so hard to watch because you keep waiting for him to break out and nothing ever really happens. I’m actually curious if/when Top Rank will stop being patient with his development. Anyway, Coffie is assuming the low level gatekeeper role here. His last matchup was a lopsided loss to rising British star Fabio Wardley. I’m guessing Knyba squeaks out a decision, but wouldn’t be shocked if he loses this one.